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The fashion industry is the second biggest polluter in the world. Major brands are exploiting garment workers and harming the environment in the production of shoes and clothing. However, there has been a rise in sustainable fashion brands, making everything from sportswear to underwear who are putting people and the planet before profit.

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As food & drink prices continue to rise across the world, it is often the producers and workers who are losing out to big corporations. We shine a light on the food sovereignty movement pushing for a fairer food system that supports local business and we comment on the rise of veganism.

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Many of the issues from our homes & garden are often hidden from the consumer, from toxic chemicals in our cleaning products to pesticides in our garden. We look at the greenest way to wash, clean and cook and how to recycle your old appliances.

The mainstream banking & insurance industries continue to invest in shady investments such as fossil fuels and nuclear weapons. However, a growing number of ethical alternatives makes it easier than ever to switch to a sustainable bank account or pick an insurance company with an ethical policy.

We look at shops or online platforms that sell a range of products, and how they tend to dominate the market by implementing a profit-first business model and by having a lacklustre approach to ethical practice. We also celebrate ethical companies offering an alternative, from online retailers to sustainable fashion brands.

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The tech sector is plagued by reports of tax avoidance, corporate lobbying and the use of conflict minerals. We look at the brands proving that technology can be made ethically, from Fairphone to Green ISP.

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Are you a lover of the outdoors? Unfortunately the companies that provide your outdoor gear & transport are often harming the environment; from car companies cheating emission tests to outdoor gear companies using toxic chemicals that damage the environment. We provide practical information for consumers on how to keep your ethics while you travel.

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In August 2018 Ethical Consumer searched the eBay site for an Environmental report. Some details were found.

EBay discussed how it it was helping to decrease environmetnal impacts by encouraging the reuse of goods.

The report contained a number of quantified targets including:

To have "100% renewable energy in our electricity supply by 2025 at eBay-controlled data centers and offces."

And to "avoid 2.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions by 2020 through people selling their pre-owned electronics and apparel on eBay". It was noted that this was basically just a way of saying that it wanted to grow its business, but as this would be contributing a genuine environmental benefit, it was considered to be a genuine target.

It also stated that it had a goal of "Lend[ing] $1 million to entrepreneurs via Kiva by 2020", although this was considerd a social rather than an environmental target.

The company discussed its environmental impacts, stating that data centres constituted 67% of its greenhouse gas emissions, and that it was making attempts to address them through the use of renewable energy. It also discussed water. However, as there was no discussion of the transport of the goods that it sold, it was not considered to have a good understanding of its environmental impacts.

The data presented in any of the reports did not appear to be independently verified.

As it had two quantified targets but no verified data and lacked a full understanding of its environmental impacts, the company received Ethical Consumer's middle rating for environmental reporting.

Reference:

In August 2018 Ethical Consumer viewed the updated Greenpeace Report ‘Clicking Clean: who is winning the race to build a greener internet?’ dated January 2017.

The Clicking Clean reports benchmarked the IT sector, ranking IT companies on their use of renewable and dirty energy within their data centres. According to the 2017 report the IT sector was estimated to consume about 7% of the world’s global electricity and was predicted to increase threefold in global internet traffic by 2020, resulting in the internet's energy footprint rising further, fueled both by our individual consumption of data and by the spread of the digital age to more of the world's population.

Ebay's overall score was a B.

It received the following grades for each category
Energy Transparency: B

Renewable Energy Commitment & Siting Policy: D

Energy Efficiency & Mitigation: B

Renewable Energy Deployment: C
Advocacy: A

Due to the fact eBay still had work to do addressing its impact on climate change it lost half a mark under Ethical Consumer's climate change category.

Reference:

In February 2014 The Telegraph online, www.telegraph.co.uk, reported that ivory traders were delibrately flouting an eBay ban on the trade by describing their products ox-bone or faux ivory.
Wildlife charities were appealing to eBay to put pop-up legal warnings on its auction site to prevent the trade in illegal ivory products.
eBay had banned all ivory sales after an investigation by the International Fund for Animal Welfare exposed how 2,275 elephant ivory items were sold in a single week in 2007. Since then conservationists say sellers have got round the ban by not using the word “ivory” when describing items for sale.
Detective Inspector Nevin Hunter, the head of the National Wildlife Crime Unit, stated that “The vast majority of ivory on eBay was legal to sell." The ban on eBay meant that people were selling it in other ways leading to people committing fraud.
He went on to say "We need eBay to make sure that sellers comply with the law.”
Charities say trading in ivory on the internet is fuelling the illegal poaching of elephants in Africa.
Simon Pope, director of campaigns at World Society for the Protection of Animals, said : “The growth of the internet has created a global marketplace for endangered animals, which has been ruthlessly exploited by criminals. Ivory from a slaughtered elephant can now be bought on a credit card from a laptop, shipped by post and delivered through the letter box. It has all become much too easy.”
An eBay spokesman said: “eBay works closely with conservation groups, many of whom recognise the significant steps we take to stop the sale of ivory products.”